Number City
Number City is the fourth song on the 2013 album The Afterman: Descension. Lyrics Attention, we have got a medical emergency The patient’s condition is critical and fading Oh, I’ve got this under control, but there's no guarantee Now should you question this professional opinion, its time we’ll spend wasting And oh if you want to see Go on and tear it out of me This case is possibly the worst that I have ever seen I see how vulnerable we as a people can truly be And oh if you want to see Go on and tear it out of me Honey, release my heart, if you Honey, release my heart, you let me go Release my heart, if you, Honey Do not let me Do not let me go Defibrillate, Defibrillate A radio transmission sent to get the heart to listen This is love from a gurney Believe in Number City 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Inspiration "This song was something I created on an old 1960s hollow body bass. The youngest song on the record, it is probably the most conceptual. It's about paramedics responding to the scene of a car crash. In its original version, Number City's lyrics were delivered as crazy dialogue from one of the EMT's perspectives, almost like a musical. They were so off-the-wall that Travis stepped up and voiced his opinion on the approach. He thought is sucked, ha, so I slightly tweaked the lyrics to be less singular and more about the group of medics. Also, instead of using a deeper bass voice delivery, I brightened the vocal back up. It was definitely for the better." "I envisioned Number City as a stripped down, simplistic arrangement, but as things usually do in the studio, it became much more elaborate by the end. The sound grew into something incredibly full and loaded with instrumentation. We also got a chance to explore the inclusion of a brass section in the band. By the end of the recording, everyone was dancing around the room to the horns." Story We flash forward from the acceptance of the Amory Award to the scene of a tragic accident. The medical response crew is already there. The EMTs survey the scene of the crash, unable to determine exactly why the driver lost control. It's as if the vehicle exploded from within on collision, sending burning hunks of metal flying out in every direction at speeds so high that police find an entire melted door wrapped around a tree twenty feet away. There are shards of glass strewn about in every shape and size, reflecting the periwinkle glow of the Keywork as if the ground is sprinkled with stars. The victims were both ejected from the vehicle. The EMTs find Sirius first, who's been knocked nearly unconscious and is in critical condition. Meri is found contorted on the ground nearly five yards away, her limbs positioned at fatal angles. It's obvious she's taken the much harder hit in the crash. The EMTs rush to get her on a stretcher, taking a blood sample for the transfusion she urgently needs. So much blood. Everywhere. Sirius struggles to listen to what's going on, his trauma reducing most of the medical jargon to calculations and numbers. The figures mean nothing to him but the passing of seconds... the fading of existence. As they load Meri into the ICU emergency transport, the sample reveals more than a blood type, her body giving up the secret she'd been hiding. Her heart stops moments after and the EMTs work to kick start it again using a defibrillator as they speed off toward the hospital. Category:The Afterman: Descension Category:Songs